Title:Imaging Polarimetry of the 2017 Solar Eclipse (and Other Objects)

Abstract: In the last decade, imaging polarimeters based on micropolarizer arrays have been developed for use in terrestrial remote sensing and metrology applications. Micropolarizer-based sensors are dramatically smaller and more mechanically robust than other polarimeters with similar spectral response and snapshot capability. To determine the suitability of these new polarimeters for astronomical applications, we developed the RIT Polarization Imaging Camera to investigate the performance of these devices, with a special attention to the low signal-to-noise regime. Using the current calibration, RITPIC is capable of detecting polarization signals as small as $\sim0.3\%$. The relative ease of data collection, calibration, and analysis provided by these sensors suggest than they may become an important tool for a number of astronomical targets.

In this talk, I will present astronomical observations made using RITPIC, including Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and the Solar corona, observed during the August 2017 total eclipse.

Bio:Dmitry Vorobiev is a Research Scientist in Center for Imaging Science, at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dmitry earned his BS in Astrophysics at the University of New Mexico. At RIT, he earned an MS in Imaging Science and a PhD in Astrophysical Sciences and Technology.